Our twelve-hour flight from London was approaching northern Brazil. As I looked out the airplane window I saw a bright orange glow on the horizon, and I could just barely make out the lush green rainforest eleven thousand

meters below, in a blanket of early-morning mist. “It’s exactly like I

remember it from 1988,” I thought.

Many things have changed in the twenty-three years since my first visit to Brazil. For one, I am older now. Back then I was in the prime of life with enough exuberance, daring, and enthusiasm to pioneer Krsna consciousness in the Amazon jungle. “I’m not sure I’d do that again,” I thought with a chuckle, recalling my brushes with piranhas, quicksand, dysentery, and almost death.

And Brazil had changed too. Then a struggling economy, it was now becoming a global powerhouse.

As the captain turned the plane to follow the coastline south to Sao Paulo four hours away, I thought about my Vyasa-puja offering to Srila Prabhupada written just after my Amazon adventure:

“In forests and cities, villages and towns, Repeating your words I roamed, Witnessing your mercy, as kind as you are, In delivering the fallen and poor. Disease came in summer and near death in the fall, In a jungle far to the south, But your saving grace and Nrsimha’s mace, Kept me safe and protected through all. Oh, how happy I am to serve you like this, Always preaching and traveling on! As a flowing river remains always clean, I pray to remain always pure. In happiness and distress, in heat and cold I want to keep fighting on, Delivering your message, as you asked me to do, While I’m enthusiastic, youthful and strong.”

Although no longer youthful and strong, I remain as enthusiastic to continue spreading Krsna consciousness as when I first came to Brazil. After the success of our traveling festival last year, I was returning with a party of twenty-five talented devotees for a seven-week tour to spread the nectar of the holy names all over the country.

The long flight finally set down in Sao Paulo. After immigration and customs, I was surprised by a large gathering of devotee children and teachers who greeted me with an enthusiastic kirtana.

“Welcome back to Brazil,” said Vaikuntha-murti Das. “These children are from the Bhakti School, our government-registered day school just outside of Sao Paulo.”

“There must be several devotee families in the area,” I said. “How many children are here?”

“Fifty-six,” said Vaikuntha-murti, “but none of their parents are devotees. In fact, most of their fathers are in jail.”

“In jail?” I said.

“Yes,” said Vaikuntha-murti. “The school is in Franco da Rocha, in the favela.”

“Favela?” I said.

“A favela is like a slum,” he said, “but very poor and with a lot of crime. The favela in Franco da Rocha is one of the most violent in Brazil. We started a small temple there some years ago, where the local children would come after school each day and on weekends. Eventually, many of them started practicing Krsna consciousness, so we decided to open a gurukula.

“We’ve had several incidents recently that show how grateful the local people are for the school. Last month a thief stole a lamp from a classroom, and the headmaster found it for sale in a pawnshop. When he told the shop owner the lamp was from the Hare Krsna school, the owner called for the thief, who happened to be nearby, and severely scolded him. He told him he would never accept anything that was stolen from devotees.

“He gave the lamp back and made the thief apologize on his knees. And some months ago the wife of the local drug lord put their ten-year-old daughter in the school. She wears a sari to classes, chants on japa beads, and is strictly vegetarian. Her mother attends the monthly parent-teacher meetings.”

Vaikunatha-murti looked lovingly at the children who were chanting and dancing. “All these children are exemplary devotees,” he said. “They are serious about their studies and about their Krsna consciousness.”

“It’s amazing, given that they come from such difficult backgrounds,” I said.

“They know real suffering,” said Vaikuntha-murti, “so they’re grateful for the happiness they’re finding in Krsna consciousness. They don’t take it lightly.”

The children escorted me to the car, chanting all the way, and I was driven to the apartment where I would be staying.

I was exhausted from the journey, but I had a sleepless night because of jetlag. In the morning I managed to join the devotees, who had come from all corners of the world. We gathered for a briefing by Jayatam das and Nandini dasi. They had organized every aspect of the festival, even the transportation and the accommodation in the many towns where we’d be performing.

Later that morning I asked Bhakta John, a local devotee, to take me to a park where I could chant my rounds. “If I don’t chant, I’ll just sleep,” I said. “And I’d like to chant in a peaceful, quiet place with greenery. I’ve been on the road for many months. A place in the mode of goodness would do me good.”

“We could go outside the city,” Bhakta John said, “but it would take hours because of Sao Paulo’s congested traffic. Instead, we can walk to a little rainforest downtown.”

“There’s a rainforest in the middle of the city?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said, “right in the middle of town. It’s probably the most expensive piece of land in the city. The founders set it aside as a place where the people could find peace and quiet from the hustle and bustle of city life. It has remained as it is for centuries. You can catch a glimpse of what Brazil used to look like before it was developed.”

“I’d love to see it,” I said.

As we started walking, I pulled out my iPhone to make a call.

“Be careful, Maharaja,” said Bhakta John. “Here in Brazil there are a lot of poor, desperate people who would steal that phone given half a chance. Actually, though, if a thief ever demands something from you, just say you’re a Hare Krsna, and he’ll go away. It’s worked many times.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Yes,” said Bhakta John. “The poor people appreciate devotees for their harinamas and prasada distribution. Because of that, thieves don’t usually steal from devotees.”

A hundred meters down the road we passed a shopping mall. “Let’s go in and look around,” I said.

“Do you need something?” said Bhakta John.

“No,” I said, “but I enjoy meeting the people when I’m in a foreign country. I like to walk around the streets and talk to people. It’s a good way to understand the country and how best to present Krsna consciousness.”

As soon as we entered the mall, a group of teenagers came up to us. “Hey,” a boy said, “can we have our photo taken with you?”

“Sure,” I said.

They surrounded me while one of their friends took photo after photo.

“People respect devotees in Brazil,” said Bhakta John. “We have a good image, and even if they don’t know anything about us they are always curious.”

A shoeshine man smiled at us and said something to his friends. They nodded their heads in a gesture of respect.

“What did he say to them?” I asked Bhakta John.

“He said, ‘There is a man of purity,’ and he told his friends that purity is a man’s most important quality.”

I turned around and went back to the shoeshine man. “Thank you for the comment,” I said, “but I’m not pure.”

“But you lead a pure life,” the man said smiling. “That’s obvious by your dress and demeanor.”

“I try to lead a pure life,” I said.

“And that makes you purer than us,” he said. His friends nodded in agreement.

“Thank you,” I said. “I will try to live up to your words.”

“Is there anything we can do for you?” the man asked.

I was touched. “Yes,” I said. “Please pray for me.”

Bhakta John and I got on the escalator going downstairs. “From that incident alone,” I told Bhakta John, “I can see that in general people here are pious.”

On the floor downstairs, a young woman was selling jewelry at a small booth.

“Sir,” she called out to me, “may I speak with you?”

I walked over to her. “Yes?” I said.

“Can you give a name for my baby?” she said.

I looked around for the child. “Where is the baby?” I said.

She blushed. “Still in my womb,” she said.

“Is she serious?” I asked Bhakta John.

“It appears so,” he said.

“I’m a complete stranger,” I said. “Why do you want me to name your unborn child?”

“Because you are a man of God,” she said. “If you name him, he will be blessed.”

I felt undeserving of the remark, but I didn’t want to disappoint her. “Let me think for a moment,” I said. “Is your baby a boy or a girl?”

“He’s a boy,” she said. “Oh, here comes my husband.”

“Alerto!” she called out. “This monk is going to name our baby!”

“Wonderful!” said Alberto. They both stood watching me with expectation in their eyes.

“We’ll call him Rama das,” I said finally.

“That’s so beautiful,” the woman said. “What does it mean?”

“Rama is a name for God in the Vedic scriptures of India,” I said. “He appeared in this world to protect the pious and establish religious principles.”

“We can’t thank you enough,” said the woman. I wrote the name on a piece of paper and gave it to her.

“Wow!” I said to Bhakta John as we walked away, “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

Bhakta John smiled. “I think you will find many surprises in Brazil,” he said.

“Really?” I said. “Maybe even Ravana’s treasure-trove of gold?”

“What treasure-trove?” said Bhakta John.

“In the fourth canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam,” I said, “Srila Prabhupada writes that Ravana was a great devotee of Lord Siva. As a result he got the blessings of Durga and his kingdom in Lanka was built of gold. Srila Prabhupada said that historical references in the Puranas suggest that Brazil was part of Ravana’s kingdom and he had huge quantities of gold taken from here through a tunnel to Lanka.”

“How could we go about finding what’s left of that treasure-trove of gold?” said Bhakta John with an elfish grin.

“I haven’t got a clue,” I said. “But Srila Prabhupada gave a more important treasure to Brazil: the chanting of the holy names of Krsna.”

As we left the mall a man in his early thirties came up to us. “Good afternoon, gentlemen,” he said. “Very happy to meet you.” He pointed to a badge he was wearing: “Save the Children.”

“We’re working with the Brazilian government,” he said, “collecting donations to put poor children in school.”

“Wonderful,” I said. “Our organization has a school with fifty-six poor children near Sao Paulo.”

“Where exactly?” he asked.

“In the favela in Franco da Rocha,” I said.

His eyes opened wide. “Franco da Rocha!” He exclaimed. “That’s one of the most dangerous favelas in Brazil.”

“True,” I said, “but the local people appreciate our efforts, so it’s not so bad.”

“You know,” he said, “our organization likes to assist any school that is successful in helping the poor and destitute. On our recommendation the Brazilian government often gives grants to such schools. Perhaps we could arrange a grant for your school?”

“That would be wonderful,” I said. “Here’s my card. Please contact me, and we can discuss further how we can work together.”

“It’s funny,” he said. “I stopped you for a small donation but ended up offering to help get a big one for you.”

“Brazil is full of surprises,” I said, shaking his hand.

We arrived at the small rainforest. “Trianon Park was established in 1792″ said the sign at the entrance. The noise of the city faded behind us as we strolled along the ferns, bushes, and flowering foliage.

I was mesmerized by the charm of the park, almost as if I had been taken back to Satya-yuga. Huge trees – some well over four hundred years old according to signs along the pathway – rose high into the sky. Groups of little monkeys scampered above on the forest canopy while parrots and other colorful birds called out and darted among the trees.

“Imagine what it was like in ancient times,” I said, “when this environment extended for thousands of miles. It reminds me of the proverb ‘God created the country and man created the city.’ Let’s sit here for a while and just chant on our beads.”

I turned my attention to the chanting of the holy names. In the sublime atmosphere my fatigue and exhaustion gradually disappeared, and I felt refreshed and energized. After about an hour of chanting, Bhakta John and I ventured a little further into the rainforest.

“Parks like this were an important part of Vedic urban planning,” I said. I searched my Pocket Vedas application on my iPhone for a reference in Srimad Bhagavatam and read aloud the verse I found.

“The city of Dvarakapuri was filled with the opulences of all seasons. There were hermitages, orchards, flower gardens, parks and reservoirs of water breeding lotus flowers all over.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.11.12]

“There’s something magical about this place,” I said. “Sao Paulo is our hub for the next six weeks, so whenever we return here from one of our other festival sites I’d like to come here again.”

“And I’d like to bring you here again,” said Bhakta John.

When we left the sanctuary of the forest, I felt as if I had re-entered the modern world, and sure enough my cell phone rang.

It was Nandini dasi. “Gurudeva,” she said, “I’m reminding you that the group has two newspaper interviews and a television program this afternoon.”

I turned to Bhakta John. “We have to hurry back,” I said.

We made it to the television studio for our talk show with just a few minutes to spare. We chatted a bit with our host before the show started.

“Tell me,” she said, “what attracted you to come to Brazil a third time?”

I thought for a moment. “The people,” I finally said. “As far as I’ve seen, the people in Brazil show an interest in Krsna consciousness that I’ve not seen anywhere else in the world.”

“I see you’ve got quite an intense schedule ahead of you,” she said. “You’ll be visiting most of our major cities. Brazil is a big country. Are you sure you can handle it?”

“Well,” I said, “I’m in my sixties, but I can handle it if I get a break from time to time.”

She smiled. “Brazil is full of beautiful places,” she said. “Where are you thinking of taking your breaks?”

“In Trianon Park,” I said.

“Trianon Park?” she said. “Our little downtown rainforest?”

“Yes,” I said. “It’s a fascinating place. I feel completely refreshed after my visit there this afternoon. I plan to go back as often as I can. Establishing that park was a brilliant idea on the part of the city founders.”

Srila Prabhupada writes:

“Perfection of human civilization is made possible by utilizing the gifts of nature in their own way. As we find herewith in the description of its opulence, Dvaraka was surrounded by flower gardens and fruit orchards along with reservoirs of water and growing lotuses… It is understood that the whole dhama, or residential quarter, was surrounded by such gardens and parks with reservoirs of water where lotuses grew… Human energy should be properly utilized in developing the finer senses for spiritual understanding, in which lies the solution of life. Fruits, flowers, beautiful gardens, parks and reservoirs of water with ducks and swans playing in the midst of lotus flowers, and cows giving sufficient milk and butter are essential for developing the finer tissues of the human body… The description of Dvaraka-dhama is the ideal of human civilization.”

Whenever spiritual wisdom-traditions encourage us to perform any act of self-denial like fasting on certain holy days, the purpose is not self-torture, but self-fulfillment. Fulfilling our bodily demands is necessary for survival, but not sufficient for satisfaction. Satisfaction comes only by the fulfillment of our spiritual necessity of a loving connection with the reservoir of all satisfaction, God. However, as long as we are caught up in catering to bodily demands– as we normally are, we neglect our spiritual necessity and miss out on the lasting fulfillment thereof.

The scriptures recommend acts of self-denial to gently compel us to relish what we have been unnecessarily missing. Self-denial checks our bodily preoccupation and forces us to look at the spiritual level for fulfillment. If we look by the right process under the right guidance, then we get so much spiritual fulfillment that we don’t even miss the bodily needs that we normally consider indispensable. That’s why, in the Shrimad Bhagavatam (10.1.13), the emperor Parikshit, despite fasting for a prolonged period, declares that he is not missing food or water because he is relishing the nectar of remembrance of Krishna.

"O Vrinda-devi, O protectress of the moving and non-moving living entities in Vrindavana, you are wealthy in the mercy of the Divine Couple who enjoy pastimes in Vraja. Please be merciful to me. Please place me among Sri Radha’s associates..."

(Sri Sankalpa-kalpadruma by Visvanatha Chakravarthi Thakura)

O Vrinda-devi, indeed place us always amongst the devotees of Sri Radha so that we may have the constant darsana of Her Lord.

FionaNarburgh interviews Graham Alexander as part of the 'Get A Coach' video, by FNProductions

(Note about transcription: XXX meansthat the words were inaudible while transcribing)

Q: What does coaching mean to you?

A: Well, tome, it's ultimately about performance. Certainly that's true in anorganisational context. In other words, if somebody is coaching or beingcoached in businesses or in public sector and so on, the organization wantsperformance – so that's what it's about. It may be about things that aren'tobviously directly about performance, but they all absolutely need to trackback to: this will help this person ultimately perform better, and thereforethe organization perform better. That's to me what it's about. Which, inessence, it's the same as it is in sport.

Q: So how does it work then? How doescoaching unlock that performance?

A: I thinkit, firstly one thing it does, it stops the action. If you sit down withsomebody, or stand up with somebody, to coach them - even if it's on the fly,in a taxi or whatever – you are talking about something, rather than in themiddle of it. So that, to me, enables reflection, seeing things more clearly,exploring things, without the cost of actually doing them yet, insight, it canhelp build motivation.

So I thinkit does it through stopping the action, with a skilled coach helping somebodylook at an issue, look at how they are behaving, looking at some aspect oftheir own performance, look at something they want to learn, and in thatconversation come out at the end of it with increased understanding, sometimesnew insight, greater will to do something, and the committment to act.

Q: It sounds quite life-changing, arethere are examples in your experience where people have really turned their life around through coaching?

A: I thinkcoaching ought to and does, if it's done well, always add value. We shouldn'tany of us be coaching if the person or an organization can't say "That wasworth it time and it's been budgeted for, the money." Sometimes it changeslives. It has the possibility for people to look, in some cases quite deeply,into their situation or themselves, see things either anew or see things theydidn't want to see or whatever. And their life is not the same after that.

It can getthem to make a career decision. It can help them become more confident. It canhelp them resolve an issue in their business or their life in some cases,resolving moves things on.

What Idon't know when I sit down with somebody- is this gonna be hopefully just something they get high value from or is thisgonna be something they will later say, "I look on that period when I wasbeing coached as a life-changing experience." I can't forecats that, butyes, I can cite lots of examples.

Q: So in terms of ... there is awhole mix of things people could do. They can go in leadership development,they can go normal training. Do you think coaching has got a particular edgethat makes it more succesful in unlocking that potential?

A: I thinkit's ... the return from coaching is generally speaking higher than from otherdevelopmental activities. Why do I say that? Because it's focused on the uniquesituation of the individual, so it can be tailored to their uniqueness, theirunique situation. Whereas in the main developmental training courses and so on,are more broad brush than that.

They can doa much better job than a lot of training and so on ... interventions, onensuring the person's will to implement. I think coaching is a very goodadjunct or follow on to training programs, leadership development, etc., andindeed a good precursor. So in my organization if we are ostensively sellingleadership programs, which we tend not to do of-the-shelf stuff, but we'vedesigned the leadership thingy for a company, we will "coach" theparticipants in advance: what they wanna get out of it, tell us their currentsituation – get them ready for it in a very, I think, very effective way.

Butcrucially afterwards, translate whatever they've learned whatever new toolsthey've got, whatever new frameworks they've got, actually to implemet. Andwe've all heard the statistics that people say,"Well if I get one usefulthing out of this training course that would be great."

I don'tthink that's good enough. Or people say that 24 hours later they forgot 80%.You know these things. All of that to me is not good enough. So coaching to meis adjunct. But yes I think coaching, if you kind of XXX it to up, done well,it's incredibly high value for time spent.

Q: And have you got any good storiesyourself of people where you've seen them blossom. Any particular, practicialexamples?

A: Yeah, Iwas thinking about that. There is two that came to mind. One was a woman andmother, who was really wrestling in a big, big, big retailer. She was aFinancial Controller. So she was high up the organization but not executiveboard level. And she was going through the often, kind of, challenging questionof "I am loving my career. It's getting on very well but it's a kind of... sort out the kids, and so on." And I think I can genuinely say throughthat coaching of her she found a way to ... Couple of things happened. One isshe realized how good she was and she owned that, "Yeah if I really wantedto I could be the Finance Director of this business (big, big retailer), and Icouldn't go further away than that.

And shefound the balance. So she got in touch with her own capability, in a sense, andher ambition. And she also found a way to not screw up the rest of her life.And she is now, if you see any list of who are the 50 or 25 or 20 most powerfulwomen in UK business world, she is often cited as the most powerful. So that'skind of an example, in a sense of just discovery XXX how even she was, but notthe way to do it but not mess everything else up.

The otherone was somebody that was one of three people that was in the frame to becomethe CEO of footsy 10 insurance company. It's massive, global. There were threecandidates. He wasn't the most obvious one. Three internal candidates, plusthere were going out for an external search, which they had to do really. Hewas not the most obvious. He was XXX the least obvious of the three, because hewas understated, he was a bit engmatic. He had a good track record. He's donevery well, he was a finance guy. Done very well, but people didn't see the kindof leadership qualities of him. They didn't get him.

So inworking with him, firstly I think I helped him get ready for the process of theboard and with the help of headhunters and so on. They were doing a veryrigorous assesment process. To get ready in the dimension of "you gonnahave to put out a compelling vision". If you could really take thisbusiness anywhere and you only had five years to live, what would you ...

Imean just wanna work, but if you ... this was your last row and you reallybowed out a hero, in the sense of you taking the business, the customers, thebusiness forward, where would you be able to take it?

So one ofthis was helping him uncover - it was in there - uncover and own a very, veryinspiring vision. And then secondly, to just kind of unlock his humanness. Hejust, he was very reserved. And to roll forward – he's got the job – and at hisfirst conference with his top 150 global managers, I worked with hom on"what you gonna say, you know, every body's gonna be XXX, maybe the mostimportant speech you ever did". And I suggested that he talked about ofhim as a human being before he goes to strategy. And he just blew everybody ...people went "what?!" He's threw up a picture of his wife and hiskids. He talked about his own doubts about his ability to do the job but hisdetermination to learn.

He talkedabout what people should know about him to work at their best. Often wasn'tobvious how he felt. If he wa being enigmatic. "Just ask me" - hesaid. And people were just at a stroke. People said he, kind of, came out ofhimself. And that's lived on for 3 years. He's now seen as an absolutelyinspirational and very successful leader.

Q: So inspiring story, that one. Imean, people have said it's not just what you do, but it's the way you do it.

A: Yes.Wasn't it that thing that said there was a period we went through where it isabout the "what", business about the "what" and then wasabout the "how", and now it's about the "why". What's themeaning? Why should I do this? Why should I follow this leader? Absolutely Ithink ... and this thing these days about authenticity. I think people wanthuman beings.

Maybe it'salso generational thing. I think younger people ... it's kind of much morerelaxed. You know, the old days of "the pin stripe suit" and going upto the executive floor in fear and trembling. That's changed a lot. People Ithink, a lot of people, want honest, open human beings leading them, andcreating a really inspiring game to play. I know we're in a period wherepeople, a lot of people haven't got jobs. So I fully accept that they say thesedays "you either work too hard or you got no work". There's no middleground.

But peopleare unfortunate to have no work at the moment. Yeah, I think they need, theyneed human beings, and they need "Why shall I do this, life is short,what's kind of get me up in the morning". And I think coaching can helppeople, leaders, managers, uncover some of that in themselves. Some people arenaturally much more carismatic and so on but I think every body has some of itin them.

And that'svital. To get the best out of people.Vital. And therefore get the best out oforganisations.

Q: Ok, so if I've got a cynicalmanager, who actually doesn't believe they even need coaching, what would yousay to try and convince them of the benefits to them?

A: Well, theprecursor would be that they are willing to be open and honest with me. So Iwould set it up "this is a no obligation, confidential conversation, whereI'm gonna ask you just to talk about your current situation honestly". Ifthey are not willing to do that I don't think you can even get into it. But ifthey are willing to do that I would do something no more complicated.

Firstly, Iam quite good (I'm not quite sure how I do it) in getting people very quicklyto relax and be themselves. So it might be a little shmoosing to start with.And then I would just get them to talk about their current situation, theirissues, what they felt they were good or not so good about, how what theythought they could learn, were there any people they are having difficultyworking with. So kind of go across ... how is your time management. Just goacross the teritory and expose some things where things weren't perfect.

I've neversat down with anybody that hasn't come up with needs. If you ask the rightquestions. Now they may be XXX live with those needs. Or they may be a realproblem for them. So I uncover a potential agenda and I say, "Ok ifcoaching could help you in those dimensions, in measurable ways ..."

I'd probablyput it, "Coaching could, that's what I do, that's what coaching does.There's no downside to you other than time, confidentiality would be straightaway, investment of time. All I need you to do is to explore these things withme, with an intent of taking action out of those conversations."

Andgenerally ... so it's framed also as not remedial. I might say, "You know,serious sports people have coaches. I wouldn't dream of them not havingcoaches. Also these days most senior leaders have coaches. It doesn't mean tosay they are lousy at what they do. In fact, in most dimensions they areabsolutely brilliant, they're high performers. But they wanna get even better.

And if youthink you can't be helped or you think there's nothing you can do better,that's very self limiting. So, and generally people say, "Ok I'll give ita try." That's all you need. Then if you are any good and they arecommitted, they'll get value, as night follows day.

Q: So have you come across anybrilliant coaching questions that unlock people's openness?

A (smiles):I think that It sounds so facade, it sounds so simplistic, but a question like"In relation to the situation you're describing, if you could do anything,what would you do? If you had unlimited time, or unlimited resource orunlimited money, what would you do?"

It's a wayof just unlocking the limits they put on what's possible. So that could bepretty potent. It sounds a bit sort of simplistic but I've found it'sremarkable. "Oh, if I had nothing else to do this week, and all what Ihave to do is address what would I do. Well, I'd do XYZ." Ok, so could youdo any of that? "Yeah, I could do some of that." So that's one answerto the question.

The otheranswer, if one's a coach, I think it's absolutely crucial, pretty early on in acoaching conversation, to agree with a coachee what the outcome is from thesecoaching sessions. Otherwise you're on the risk of it being a cozy chat, whichI think is absolutely not what we should be doing. It's nice if it's a nicechat but ... so if I was coaching you, fairly early on I want us to agree,"If you get up from that chair and you go "That was really valuable",what is it you take away, and define that." That's what we shoot for.

It mightchange during the course of a coaching session, but at least there'scontracting around tangibility of outcome.

We are used to whatever we have – to always be a little bit empty, and therefore we always have an open eye to see if there is anything more we can get, to fill the vacuum that is in our heart. This is just a normal state of consciousness. So therefore Cāṇakya Paṇḍita explains about a girl and boys are the same. He was talking about a girl who was speaking to one man, looking at another, and thinking of the third! And that is the way conditioned souls are!

Conditioned souls are always looking for a little more, since we are never fulfilled with whatever we have. So this hunger is in us. So therefore we always see it in the shopping street, we see boys and girls walking hand in hand looking at others, which is quite common. Everyone has noticed it….I’m sure you have noticed it! That’s the way it is, because the heart is still unfulfilled. No matter what we have, we keep on looking at more…………….and maybe there is still something better than what we have:

“I will just drop what I have. I will take that better thing…yes!”

Like this…no, this the illusory energy, and it will never end….never! There will always be the illusion of something. Therefore, it is difficult to understand the eternal spiritual relationship with Krishna, that is completely fulfilling, and that is the case. There is no need for anything else. No other desire remains!

“As I understand it Maharaj, GHQ is going to be a think tank with the mandate to prepare a paper with proposals to the GBC to check apasiddhanta in the form of ‘feminism’ in ISKCON. . .”

(Basu Ghosh Dasa, president of ISKCON-Baroda, September 24, 1998)

“I do not resent criticism, even when, for the sake of emphasis, it parts for the time with reality.” Winston Churchill

Abstract

The contents of this text Notes From a Think Tank are divided into two portions. The first contains 25 Articles and the second constitutes the appendix which is divided into 14 Sections. This appendix contains voluminous quantities of exculpatory texts that “Ardhabuddhi Dasa” and the Women’s Ministry doesn’t want you to see. These texts totally exonerate GHQ. The Articles discuss point for point the contentions of “Ardhabuddhi Dasa” in his expose. They show in great detail how “Ardhabuddhi Dasa” contrived to distort the truth by selectively editing and taking out of context GHQ texts that were stolen from a private conference. “Ardhabuddhi Dasa’s” use of emotionally charged language is analyzed. It is clearly shown that members of GHQ were not conspiring but rather following ISKCON law regarding how to implement change. Why Secrecy is necessary for such discussion. How the GHQ conference got started is explained. The popular notion of “Rights and Propensities” gets debunked by sastra. The actual importance of the Dharma of Women conference and why so many women support it. Many testimonials from women supporters all over the world especially Sri Dham Mayapura our spiritual heart. It is demonstrated that “Ardhabuddhi Dasa” selectively cut and paste texts not only to make GHQ look bad but to hide the identity of Mother Madhusudani Radha dd (an editor of Chakra) who is caught doing things she would not like to be known in public (Article 9). We reveal leading feminists in ISKCON addressing each by their military rank. It is clearly shown why there were no women on GHQ; it was by there own choice not because they were shut out. It is demonstrated that the feminists desire to become “empowered” is nothing but the same materialistic aspiration of the karmis. You will see texts where leading feminists actively dig for “dirt” on their opponents. The idea that the members of GHQ were not seriously concerned about the welfare of women is thoroughly smashed and debunked. The false notion that GHQ members toned their rhetoric for cynical motivation is also thoroughly demonstrated to be wrong. The real reason was fear of vaisnava-aparadha and a desire to maintain a higher consciousness. Most importantly a thorough analysis of the real conspiracy is given showing a plausible scenario where the real conspirators were the Women’s Ministry and supporters like HH Mukunda Maharaja. If you read only one article this is the one you must read; Article 25, it is a real eye opener. If you have any questions about the content of “Notes From a Think Tank,” contact Sriman Jivan Mukta Prabhu at: btb@georgian.net

First of all, we should like to apologize to all those devotees whose feelings were hurt by the contents of the private letters revealed by “Ardhabuddhi Dasa” in the article Conspiracy To Terminate The ISKCON Women’s Ministry. It is very understandable that if selected sections of private correspondence are presented to the unsuspecting public, with the motivation to create ill feeling, then the sensibilities of devotees will be hurt. After all, those great souls dedicated to spiritual life have finer sensibilities and are thus more easily hurt. So, although the presentation of “Ardhabuddhi Dasa” was a malicious, gross distortion of the views and attitudes of GHQ, nevertheless all the GHQ members are very sorry that so many devotees have been adversely affected. It was never our intention to offend anyone. And even though our words were tormented and distorted beyond recognition of their actual intent, still we are pained to know that something originated by us became a cause of distress to others.

We are also disturbed that the bona fide objectives of GHQ have been portrayed as repugnant. The elephant is noble and majestic, whereas a poisonous snake is a justly condemned creature. If a trickster leads a blind man to touch only the trunk of an elephant, the trickster could easily convince him that the noble elephant is actually a loathsome snake. And this is exactly what “Ardhabuddhi Dasa” has done to the innocent devotee public—-who are effectively blind to the factual reality of GHQ, by not having access either to the 911 texts that were exchanged on GHQ (as of November 17, 1998) nor the hundreds or perhaps even thousand(s) of e-mails exchanged between individual members before and after the formation of GHQ. By showing the innocent readers a mere 49 of those texts, “Ardhabuddhi Dasa” has succeeded to deceive most into believing that an “elephant” is actually a “snake.”

As a result of “Ardhabuddhi’s” disinformation all the members of GHQ have been subjected to all kinds of abuse and slander. A mob mentality has developed to the point that some devotees have even threatened violence against us. Others have literally urged that we all be “hung.” (See Section 13.7) Both the North American GBC Executive Committee and the International GBC Executive Committee have Censured the members of GHQ solely on the basis of “Ardhabuddhi Dasa’s” paper without even bothering to contact any of the active members of GHQ. This uninformed, public censure by the GBC has aroused even more animosity and hatred towards GHQ members.

However, having said that, even though we have all suffered greatly none of us regret that this has happened. The reason for that being that prior to the distorted revelations of “Ardhabuddhi Dasa” the members of our think tank were concerned that no matter how hard we worked to make a presentation to the GBC it would be put on the back burner because of so many other pressing issues such as the Rtvik heresy. But now because of “Ardhabuddhi Dasa” our concerns will surely get much greater notice than they would have before, this has made our suffering tolerable.

The GHQ event has prompted many devotees to focus upon an extremely important and relevant issue; and that will prove only beneficial for the future of ISKCON. As with the rtvik heresy, the feminist heresy also must be confronted if we are indeed serious to fulfil the orders of our beloved founder-acarya, Srila Prabhupada, to establish varnasrama-dharma. We have reached a fork in the road: one path leads us to secular feminism (just another “ism” for fulfilling material desires); the other path takes us to the ideals of Vedic culture and pure Krsna consciousness. On which path will our leaders take us? Will they be courageous and adhere to the path of varnasrama-dharma, as Srila Prabhupada has shown us? Or, to maintain temporary popularity or prestige or to avoid criticism, will they unceremoniously lead us down the path of heretical feminism?

While we are happy that our cause is drawing so much attention, we are genuinely dismayed that the tender sentiments of others have been disturbed in the process. To redress this hurt, we propose to demonstrate to our respectable readers the actual mission of GHQ; we will also answer the various charges placed upon our heads by “Ardhabuddhi Dasa.” We will present volumes of exculpatory texts which “Ardhabuddhi Dasa” hid from the reader in order to create a false impression; and we will venture to speculate on the motivations of “Ardhabuddhi Dasa.”

And finally, we will now also apologize for the long duration of time it took for us to prepare our response. The research of looking through several thousand texts and the coordination of several devotees for the gradual compilation of this report was indeed an arduous task. (It takes a gunman only a moment to pull a trigger and flee—-the medical team will take weeks to put the patient back on his feet.)

We therefore humbly request that you, O respected reader, be kind and patient enough to read through the entire presentation. Since by now, much vitriolic cyber-ink has flowed on this topic–mostly from our opponents– we therefore appeal to your sense of fairness and veneration for the truth, so as to give us a fair and full hearing. We beg to remain,

Your humble servants,

Members of GHQ

P.S. For more information about the aims and objectives of GHQ, as well as to view other papers presented by GHQ members mentioned in this presentation, we cordially invite encourage you to visit <www.ghq.org>

Method of Presentation

The twenty-five articles mainly address, point for point, the various statements made by “Ardhabuddhi Dasa” in his VNN article of November 18, 1998, entitled “Conspiracy To Terminate The ISKCON Women’s Ministry.” Each article is headlined by one of his statements. The sections are collections of exculpatory e-mails grouped under a general topic. Most of these texts were posted on GHQ, although several are private e-mails between members. When a text from the sections is referred to or quoted, we use the nomenclature: (x,y), wherex indicates the section, and y the text number.

If the selection above is hosted by YouTube then after the video plays there will be several links presented to other videos. ISKCON News Weekly has no control over the selections presented and is not responsible for their contents.

At the House of Commons, on Tuesday 11th October 2011, Radhanath Swami addressed Members of Parliament and ministers together with the UK interfaith community to a private reception on “Spirituality and the Big Society”.

A position is open immediately to serve ISKCON as Executive Assistant to the Minister of Communications, Anuttama Dasa. The service will be performed at the ISKCON Communications (IC) offices at the Washington, D.C. temple, in suburban Maryland, USA.

Kish, the last Mayapuri in Australia leaves town and heads back to home in Florida USA. Whilst in Australia the Mayapuris lifted the entire country with deep, blissful, and cranking kirtans that pushed us all up to another level. If you get the opportunity to host the Mayapuris in your country I suggest you grab the opportunity with both hands and make it happen, things will never be the same again. Mayapuris Ki Jay, all glories to your service.

1967 November 9: "Kirtanananda is a crazy man. That is proved. Try to convince by argument and reason but do not become angry. We should always try to represent Lord Nityananda Prabhu in the matter of preaching work."

1967 November 9: "I am now thinking about our society. We were very smoothly going on but this disruption created by Kirtanananda has plagued and disturbed the situation. The best thing is to do our duty nicely with faith in Krishna and everything will be adjusted."

1970 November 9: "As President, see that everyone is following a regulated schedule of chanting sixteen rounds, reading, Sankirtana, and temple worship. Any breakage in the performance of one's duties will surely be a hindrance in one's advancement."

1970 November 9: "Universities are very important. There they can appreciate our philosophy. When you speak in the classroom, just quote from my books and explain in your own words. They will appreciate very much."

1973 November 9: "I was sick when I left Calcutta for London. For the time being I am keeping my health. So after all, this is an old body. I am 78 years, and still by the grace of Krsna it is going on."

1975 November 9: "We have to request them humbly to correct if there is any discrepancy, not changing or dismissing. Our whole process is to humbly request and like Nityananda Prabhu sometimes falling down on the feet and flattering."

1975 November 9: "The temples should save more and not exceed expenditures. Our principle is tyaga, to renounce material activities as far as possible. It is not good that all the temples are spending more than they are receiving."

1975 November 9: "We are not interested in giving them vegetarian food; we are interested to give them prasadam. They may take so many nice things, especially the sandesh, kachori, rasagulla, samosa and in this way they will forget their meat-eating."

For two weeks Kadamba Kanana Maharaja took a group of 25 men around the holy places of Bangladesh. On the bottom of this article you will find a slide show depicting this wonderful tour. In the brackets behind each title you can find the numbers of the photos depicting that very place.

- ISKCON Narsindi (1-11)

The first real meeting of the whole Bangladesh group was in Narasindi, since all of us came on different flights into the country. We all met in a big Harinama proceeding through the streets of Narasinghi to the local ISKCON temple.

- Saci Mata Janmastan (12-27) From there, after accepting Prasadam, we made our way to Saci Mata’s birthplace, a beautiful area in the wilderness of Bengal. Maharaja gave a talk about the glories of Saci Mata, elaborating on the story of how in her dream Gauranga and Nityananda were fighting over the Bhoga offering with Krsna Balarama. In that story it came to a huge fight, especially between Lord Balarama and Lord Nityananda, of whom eventually Nitai came out succesfully.

- Sivananda Sena Janmastan (28-39)

Not so far from Saci Devi’s place, we found the original tree under which Sivananda Sena, a close associate of Lord Caitanya was born. After Maharaja started the kirtana, lots of villagers were attracted to come over. Maharaja shortly addressed them in Bengali, and then continued with glorifying Sivananda in English. After the lecture, we were picked up by a Harinama party and were led to the nearby temple dedicated to Sivananda Sena.

- ISKCON Sylhet (40-51)

On the same night we arrived in our hotel in Sylhet. Maharaja was received in a big way by the local devotees. A row of a thousand of people lined up on either side and tried to get the dust of his feet. They got it! He survived though and gave an amazing evening program with a fired up Kirtana and a Bengali lecture.

- Advaita Acarya Janmastan (52-84)

The next day we took up the mission to go to Advaita Acarya’s place, travelling with plane, car, riksha and eventually boat to reach there. His birthplace is on the very end of Bangladesh – just on the Indian border. You can actually see the mountains that draw the line between these two countries. The birthplace itself is beautifully situated in Bengal’s nature, on the bank of the Sunam river. There is a ISKCON temple with wonderful deities, and since we stayed the night there, Maharaja led the devotees through a bhajana evening, ending with a talk abouth Advaiata Acarya.

- Jagannatha Misra Janmastan (85-116)

After a short night, we then continued our pilgrimage to Jagannatha Misra’s birthplace. On the way, we had a nice Harinama party, leading through the city of -?-. At Jagannatha Misra’s place we found a temple with nice deities of Jagannatha Misra and Saci Mata and also of the Pancha Tattva. Again Maharaja gave a nice lecture, talking about Jagannatha Misra’s astonishing relationship with his eternal son Nimai.

- Srivasa Takhura Janmastan (117-124)

From Jagannatha Misra’s place we went to Srivasa Thakura’s birthplace. It was a calm stay. Due to all the travelling, we spent the time there relaxing and accepting Maha Prasadam. Meanwhile Maharaja gave some unofficial talk about pastimes with Srivasa.

- Pundarik Dham – Govardhan Puja festival (125-153)

A really special place on our journey then was Pundarika Dhama, Pundarik Vidyanidhi’s birthplace. His samadhi is found in the area of a beautiful ISKCON temple, which has it’s own Radha Kunda and Shyama Kunda as well as a Govardhana hill. This was perfect of course to celebrate the Govardhana Puja, which took place during our two days stay there. It was a big festival with Maharaja leading amazing kirtanas and telling the whole Govardhana lila.

- Vasudeva Datta and Mukunda Datta Janmastan (154-177)

Just nearby of Pundarik Dhama, a five minute walk away, we found the birthplaces of Vasudeva Datta and Mukunda Datta, whose glories Maharaja fully explained during our visit.

- Dhaka – Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day (178-202)

Our next destination was Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital city, were we celebrated Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day in the local ISKCON temple. Kadamba Kanana Maharaja offered the Puja to Srila Prabhupada and started off the bathing ceremony. The program on that evening, consisted of two hours of fired up kirtana and loads of glorification of His Divine Grace.

- Prema Tali and Kheturi (202-227)

From Dhaka, we headed to Kethuri Dhama, visiting the glorious Padma River, in which Caitanya Mahaprabhu displayed His Krsna Prema to give it to Narottama Dasa Thakura. Later, we all took our bath there, and we went to see Narottama’s actual birthplace, which is just nearby the Padma river. There we found lots of temples, with different presiding deities, and there Maharaja also spoke about the glories of Narottama.

- Talakhandi (228-231)

The next day we went to see the birthplace of Lokanatha Goswami. The visit was short since there is no temple built there, but Maharaja still gave a talk about the significance of Lokanatha Goswami for our sampradaya.

- Rupa Santana Smrti Sthana (232-255)

Our journey came to an end when we reached the ISKCON temple, near the birthplace of Rupa and Sanatana Goswamis, since we reached there at night we went to the actual birthplace the next morning. After a car ride and a short boat tour, we reached the beautiful area of the birthplace. The actual birth tree can be seen there, which is situated just next to a beautiful temple, where deities of both, Rupa and Sanatana Goswamis are installed.

- Benapole (256-end)

After our visit to this auspicious place, we went to our last stop in Bangladesh. That was the place, where a prostitute tried to disturb Haridasa Thakura’s chanting. She came and offered him to enjoy with her, and Haridasa replied that he will surely do, but that he would first have to finish his rounds. Of course Haridasa never finishes chanting and so the prostitute couldn’t disturb him, but instead turned into a devotee herself. That very pastime took place at this holy place, and Maharaja told it during our stay. Deities of both, Haridasa Thakura and the prostitute can be found in this temple. We spent the rest of our time there chanting and taking prasad. Shortly after, we reached the Indian border and headed towards Mayapur. Enjoy this slide show of wonderful Bangladesh!

Anyone who has come to understand his true identity, and his connection with the Higher Power, puts himself in a position where laws higher than the ordinary people know can be revealed to him.

You have within you, right now, great mental and spiritual resources that you can use to solve any problem or achieve any goal. If you are stuck, one of the most effective ways to get unstuck is to turn to these special resources in order to overcome any obstacle or resolve any difficulty.

Throughout the ages, this great Power has been called many names. In the Bible, it is referred to as the Holy Spirit. Thomas Edison called it Infinite Intelligence.

Psychologists and mystics refer to it as the superconscious mind, or the collective unconscious.

RalphWaldo Emerson called it the oversoul.

If you are spiritually conscious, you will see this as the intelligence that comes from God, available to you whenever you want to connect with it.

In the Book of Psalms, this Power is referred to as ‘‘a very present help in trouble.’’

It is always available, anywhere and anytime. You need only turn to it in any difficulty and this great power will become available to you.

Bhagavad-gita describes it as a Supersoul, or Paramatma, the expansion of God situated in our heart, form whom come knowledge, remembrance and forgetfulness.

Question: Why do many intellectuals inquiring about God – be they scientists investigating his existence or historians of religion researching his ancient appearances – often fail to understand God properly?

Answer: Their failure results from adopting an inappropriate method that neglects the vital difference between knowing about God and knowing God.

The Bhagavad-gita (7.7) reveals that God in his highest aspect is a person, a living, loving person who reveals himself in reciprocation with our desire. Intellect-centric approaches overlook this essential personal reciprocal nature of God. Such approaches treat God either as a laboratory object for examination under a microscope, or as an archaeological artifact to be exhumed for investigation. Such exclusively or overly intellectual approach to know God can at best give some hints of his existence through scientific research of nature or of his appearances in ancient history, but all this is knowledge about God, not knowledge of God.

To better grasp this difference, let’s consider the example of a child who is taken for a health checkup to a diagnostic center. At the end of the check-up, the checkup incharge knows a lot about the child – the blood pressure, the heart beat, even the urine and stool compositions. He may probably know much more such details about the child than even the child’s mother, but who knows the child better? Obviously, the mother. If the checkup incharge approaches the child as a clinical object for investigation, then his very choice of approach depersonalizes the child to the level of a pathological object. On the other hand, the mother treats the child not as an object to investigate, but as a person to love. That’s why she knows the essence of the child – his likes and dislikes, his hopes and fears, his joys and sorrows. Put succinctly, she knows the child, whereas the checkup incharge knows about the child.

This principle of “what we want to see determines what we see” applies to God too. That’s why serious seekers don’t let the overly intellectual approach distract them from their purpose; they surely use their intellect – but for the purpose of deepening their love for God. The Gita declares that only by loving God that they can know him (4.3), and also that the true knower of God is the whole-hearted lover of God (15.19).

Thus, when it comes to God, by loving, we know; by knowing, we love. We know to love; we love to know. When we try to love and serve God, then we will discover that knowing him becomes easy, as is promised in the Gita (8.14). In essence, love is the key to the treasury and the treasury: love is the ultimate way to knowledge and love is the ultimate knowledge.

A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course Wednesday 9 November 2011 The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, and His eternal consort, Srimati Radharani are enjoying transcendental pastimes in the topmost planet of the spiritual world, Sri Goloka Vrindavan. They are beckoning us to rejoin them. (Click on photo to see a larger image.) Our Mission: To help everyone awaken their original Krishna consciousness, which is eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. Such a global awakening will, in one stroke, solve all the problems of the world society bringing in a new era of unprecedented peace and prosperity for all. May that day, which the world so desperately needs, come very soon. We request you to participate in this mission by reviving your dormant Krishna consciousness and assisting us in spreading this science all over the world. Dedicated with love to ISKCON Founder-Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our beloved spiritual master, and to you, our dear readers. For Transcendental Association Connect With Other Members of this Course. Join this Conference: http://groups.google.com/group/sda_students Help Popularize Our Message By Liking Today's Thought on Facebook: Today's Thought: Regain Your Natural Blissful Consciousness uploaded from Sri Vrindavan Dhama, India All you have to do to be happy is to be yourself. Nothing artificial is required. The reason that we are unhappy is that we have been trained to see everything in an artificial, highly distorted, false way. In other words, we don't know who we are. This is why we are suffering. We think that we are these temporary material bodies instead of eternal spiritual beings. The body is just a temporary covering of the actual eternal self. To become free from this bodily concept we need to hear submissively from the bona fide spiritual master. He will teach us to see things clearly so that we can regain our original, natural, all-blissful state of consciousness known as Krishna consciousness. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada Teaches Krishna Consciousness In Tompkins Square Park--New York City--1966 http://www.backtohome.com/images/Prabhupada/SP_1966.jpg Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Comment on Mother Theresa's Words What is your comment on these words of Mother Theresa?: If you can't love the person whom you see, then how can you love God whom you cannot see? Your humble servant, Vijayakumar Answer: See God and Give the Highest Service to All We have no interest in giving opinionated comments on the sayings of others. However, we can analyze the strength or weakness of any statement based on the timeless teachings of the Vedas, which are coming from Lord Sri Krishna, the supreme authority. This statement is saying that if we don't love man, we cannot love God. But if we carefully analyze the science of the relationship between the Lord and the living entities, we will see that actually it is the other way around. If we don't love God, we cannot truly love and serve man. Without God consciousness we will be merely serving a man's external covering, the material body, and will be neglecting service to the eternal spirit-soul who dwells within. While on the material level we may be able give a person temporary relief from misery, we cannot give him permanent relief from misery. On the spiritual platform, however, we can give him permanent relief from all kinds of suffering by delivering him back to his original home in the spiritual world, far beyond this world of miseries. And besides this, we can see God, if we will follow the prescribed process for qualifying ourselves to see Him, as elaborately described in the Vedic literatures. So if someone wants to be the perfect servant of all persons, they should not neglect seeing the Supreme Person, Lord Sri Krishna, as described in the Sri Isopanisad: yas tu sarvni bhtny tmany evnupayati sarva-bhtesu ctmnam tato na vijugupsate He who sees systematically everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being. --Sri Isopanisad Mantra 6 Even if we are not yet pure enough to see God directly with our eyes, we can still see Him through the eyes of the scriptures, as described above, and render the best service to all by fully engaging ourselves in the devotional service of the Lord. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Transcendental Resources: Receive the Special Blessings of Krishna Now you too can render the greatest service to the suffering humanity and attract the all-auspicious blessings of Lord Sri Krishna upon yourself and your family by assisting our mission. Lectures and Kirtans in Audio and Video: Link to High Definition Videos Link to Over 1,000 Lecture Audios Lecture-Travel Schedule for 2011 http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/schedule Have Questions or Need Further Guidance? Check out the resources at: http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com or write Sankarshan Das Adhikari at: sda@backtohome.com Get your copy today of the world's greatest self-realization guide book, Bhagavad-gita As It Is available at:http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/store Know someone who could benefit from this? Forward it to them. 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